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What is it made of, how to braid it, why is it flexible, how do we impregnate and test it? And what will you say if the best climber in the world shows it clearly and explains it to you – Adam Ondra as a guy in work trousers with a huge moustache and afro hair cut from the 1970s. More info - How tendon ropes are made?

Jakob Schubert reports on Insta that he first did the second repeat of Daniel Woods' La Force Tranquille 8C in Magic Wood in just one session. On the next session, he opted for the original direct exit and within an hour he made the FA of the direct and although a bit harder, it remains 8C. (c) Michael Piccolruaz

The 29-year-old Austrian, who has qualified to Tokyo 2021, has been the best male Lead competition climber the last ten years. In total, he has won 21 World Cups, out of which 18 in Lead. Including also one 9b+ and four 9b's, Jakob should be considered the runner up climber in the world after Adam Ondra during the last ten years together with Alex Megos.

Strangely, there is no official documentation on how close to and edge/crack you can place climbing bolts. The intention of this article is not to create guidelines but to welcome a discussion so we all can learn and make bolting and climbing safer. Some say the bolts should be placed 20 cm from edges etc but at the same time, in practice, many bolts are placed just 5 cm from edges. In the concrete industry, one simple rule refers to the pull out cone, which is normally based on the depth in cm of the bolt times 1.5. In other words, a bolt sticking in 7 cm should be placed at least 10.5 cm from an edge.

The bolt in the picture, could be considered as an example of a dangerous bolt as it was placed on a 7 cm wide "bridge" (including a small crack) sticking up some 2 cm from the rock. Noteworthy is that the bolt was a replacement from a previous bolt to the right. " If I came across this on a route, I would worry about what else the equipper didn’t understand."(Comment from David Reeve, who has been helping UIAA as an expert in other bolting subjects.)

Here are some general questions and reflections that could be discussed in order to make climbing safer in regards to how close to edges and cracks bolts could be placed?
Why do trad climbers place cams close to edges and other cracks?
Is it safer to first bolt with a 6 mm drill and then a 10 mm drill?
Is a glue-in safer than an expansion bolt placed near an edge?
The difference on bolts with potential factor one falls and the anchor with much less impact?
The difference in between bolts placed on sandstone, limestone, gneiss and granite?
The difference in between bolts placed on vertical, overhang and roof?
The differences in between a 10 mm bolt drilled 7 cm inside the rock and a 12 mm placed 10 cm inside the rock?
What about the distance from bad rock or minor cracks?
Is the risk greater for bolts placed above, beside or below edges?

All these questions comes down to understand best practice when getting close to an edge or a crack in order to increase safety? Tricky bolting situation almost always relates to the first bolts, meaning it is better to start by bolting from a ladder instead of beginning from the top. When in doubt of the most "rock safe" bolting, in regards edges etc, and the best bolting, opt for safety. If there is no "rock safe" bolt placement, one possibility is to opt for a higher bolt and place a fixed vire or a chain.

Alex Totkova, the 15-year-old, who did her first 9a this spring has sent Memento mori 8c in Golyamata Dupka. It took her six sessions but that was because she did not find the right beta. "It was my mistake so therefore it took me a long time".

Last year, she won A Euro Youth Cup in both Lead and Boulder, and in the World Championship, she got the silver in Combined.

Out of the Top-15 Lead WC ranking 2019, only Sascha Lehmann #10, will participate in the Euro Championship starting in Moscow on Friday. Austria, France, Spain and Italy will not send any athletes. Germany will only send female athletes and only three will participate from Slovenia and two from Great Britain. The only countries sending big teams are Russia and the Czech Republic but no Adam Ondra. There are two Olympic tickets at stake in Moscow but there are not many who want to gamble with the health it seems.

Based on the Top-30 in the only WC in 2020, with only Europeans participating, just three male from the Czech Republic are scheduled to compete in Moscow. It should be noted that Russia set a new record of Covid-19 cases the last week.

Fanatic Climbing has made a full length interview with Julia Chanourdie after she became the third women to have done a 9b through Eagle-4 in St Léger. Amazingly, the Olympian could do all the moves during her first session and overall it just took her ten days out of which some in bad conditions. (c) Julia Cassou

Can you tell us about the process, from discovery to sending?
I checked out the moves for the first time in September. I was able to do all the moves of the hard bottom part the first time I tried it. So, I took my time and checked out the rest of the climb which was supposedly easier but remained quite intimidating nonetheless. In total, the process took ten days of working on the climb. It seems like little time, which is why it is still hard to realize what I just achieved. But I know that I’ve been feeling particularly strong these days. I felt good training, and also at the crag. In addition, the style of the climb suited me well as it was all about power, grip strength and short power endurance. In this climb there is no room for tricks, you either pull on the holds, or you don’t.
Late October, I learned that the French team would not go to European championships, so I changed my plans and decided to spend some time in Saint Léger. Early last week, some holds were still wet and I decided to take some time to dry them out to be able to give the route proper tries. Before that, it was difficult for me to get on it with a real intention to send. But once I decided to actually try to send, my desire for success surpassed everything.

David Reeve has published a very long article in regards bolts and highly corrosive crags. We are very thankful for him putting together a short summary.

"There are a number of highly corrosive crags that are notorious for their ability to devour stainless steel – eg Railay, Tonsai, Long Dong, much of the Mediterranean coast, and the Portuguese coast to name just some of them. After several years of study, in part funded by the UIAA, and with the help of many volunteers, this is what I now know about these locations

1. All corrosive crags are sea cliffs, yet very few sea cliffs in the world are particularly corrosive, so there has to be more to the story than just the action of seawater.

2. All corrosive crags are associated with high levels of sulphate, both on the rock surface, and seeping through the groundwater. Sulphate promotes the growth of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) in the anoxic spaces beneath the fixed hanger at the point where the bolt enters the rock. For glue-ins, bacteria occupy the minute crack between glue and bolt.

3. All failed anchors I have studied reveal the presence of iron and nickel sulphides, a clear indicator of the agency of SRB.

4. SRB are well known to promote a destructive process called hydrogen embrittlement within susceptible stainless steels. It can take the form of stress-cracking that looks similar to chloride-induced SCC but differs in a number of ways. It is called sulphide stress cracking or SSC. More alarmingly, we sometimes see embrittlement with very little corrosion, where perfect-looking uncracked bolts can be snapped with a single hammer blow.

5. The nickel content of the stainless steel, in combination with the temperature at which the product is formed has a dramatic effect on hydrogen susceptibility. It is a threshold effect. At 8% nickel, 304 (A2) is likely to give rise to a product that will last no more than 10 years in an environment where SRB are present. At 10%, 316 (A4) is right on the threshold. It is possible that 316 will last for many decades in the same environment. Steel with a higher nickel content would be a better choice, but, without jumping to the very expensive 904, there is currently no commercial offering at say 14% to 20% nickel.

6. A susceptible stainless steel of any type will reveal this weakness by being magnetic to a reasonable degree. By reasonable degree I mean a super-strong magnet will partially lift a bolt lying on a table. If it doesn’t then it is likely the martensite level is below the critical level. Check welds, and parts of the bolt that have been deformed in manufacture. These areas are the most likely to be magnetic.

7. Sea cliffs in Sweden: I’d be very surprised if you have any problems there. Most sea cliffs are fine except for the few that show sulphate accumulation. Most sulphate cliffs in the world are located in regions of continental subduction. Volcanic activity associated with such shifting of the continental plates provides the sulphur source. The exceptions are those associated with the volcanism of mid-ocean, sea-floor expansion, such as the Canaries and Hawaii. It is only when sulphate is present does the whole thing about magnetism become relevant. 304, magnetic or not, has done great service at sea cliffs around the world. These days with 316 becoming competitive in price, I would choose 316 because it is somewhat more sea water resistant than 304. However, if the price difference is large, I’d stay with 304.

The above is purely my opinion and should not be construed as being endorsed by, or a recommendation from, the UIAA. I am always very careful to set my personal opinions apart from those of the UIAA. I am a technical advisor to UIAA Safe Com on the subject of rock anchors, but that’s all I am. I cannot speak for the organisation. However, they have funded a big part of my research over the past few years, and the reason I started my blog was to ensure that my efforts, and those of the volunteers that help me at crags around the world, are not lost. I distrust “experts” and have no wish to be one. However, I’m very happy to tell people what I have discovered, and let them process that information to make their own decisions."

Iziar Martinez has done her fifth 8c, MotivAcción in Cueva del Arnal. "Well I went to this cave in Cantalejo, it's like my comfort zone. I go there since I was 11-years-old and I only had two routes left and one of them was the 8c. So I tried and I did it on my 6th go."